1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floor for a means of transport of the type where the floor includes a plate which is adapted to the bottom of a given means of transport, and on which one or more chairs may be secured. The invention moreover relates to a profile for the construction of the floor and to a means of transport provided with such a floor.
2. The Prior Art
It is common practice that in vehicles for passenger transport, such as e.g. minibuses, a floor is installed within the vehicle body on the bottom of the vehicle body. Such a floor typically includes a plurality of plate elements separated by two or more rails, which extend longitudinally or transversely, and which are screwed or bolted to the vehicle bottom on which the seats are mounted. The seats in the cabin and the rails are adapted such that the seats may be secured to the rails.
It may be mentioned in this connection that EP-A-0 619 216 discloses a floor plate for minibuses and vans which is coated with an elastic layer of polyurethane, so that the floor is easier to lay, and so that it does not rattle when it is positioned on top of the vehicle bottom.
The plate elements are usually plywood which is covered by a carpet or vinyl covering. The plate elements may be interconnected below the rails or be separated by the rails, so that the rails are disposed in a form of track in the longitudinal direction of the plate. The plate is fixed to the vehicle bottom. The rails are screwed or bolted to the vehicle bottom, which is usually a profiled metal plate.
This provides flexibility in the selection of seating, as the seats may be moved forwards or backwards along the rails and be mounted in the desired arrangement. Particularly in case of larger means of transport, such as buses as well as trains or aircraft, the number of seats may thus also be changed relatively easily by moving the individual seats more or less together on the rails.
The seats may be provided with seat belts in the form of lap belts, so that, without further mounting operations, passengers may sit in a fastened position, no matter which seating is selected.
To increase the safety of passenger transport, it will be a requirement in many countries that also e.g. minibuses must have three-point seat belts on all seats, as is the case with cars.
When the passengers are fastened in three-point belts, the load of the suspension of the seat in the floor is increased significantly in case of a deceleration during an accident or in the case of a sudden application of the brakes. This increased impact is caused by the fact that also the torso of the passenger is fastened by the belt, which propagates to the mount of the seat in the rails. This makes additional demands on the attachment of the seat to the rail and consequently the attachment of the rail to the floor/bottom. This is intensified by double or triple seats.
The known types of floors for means of transport, however, cannot meet these demands, and accordingly the invention is intended to provide a floor which can satisfy these additional demands on the seat attachment because of the intensified demands on the use of seat-belts. Furthermore, in the known floor systems, the flexibility as to where the seats may be arranged on the floor rails is limited by the position of the rails, and, therefore, the invention is additionally intended to provide a floor which gives greater flexibility with respect to the positioning of seats.
The invention is directed to a floor of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph, where the floor plate is provided with a plurality of recesses distributed in a suitable pattern for receiving securing means for securing chairs to the plate and for receiving attachment means for attaching the floor plate to the bottom.
A floor plate according to the invention thus exhibits a perforated structure. A floor extremely flexible with respect to the arrangement of chairs is achieved hereby, as the attachment points no longer have to be on a linear rail, but may be selected freely. It is realized by the invention that only some of the recesses are used for the attachment of chairs. Other attachment recesses are used for the attachment of the floor to the bottom. The recesses which are not used, may be covered so that the floor with the mounted chairs will have a uniform surface without long openings like at the rails, which facilitates cleaning of the floor. It is moreover realized by the invention that the chair-carrying recesses may moreover be used for the attachment of other aids, such as e.g. wheel chairs. There are no standard dimensions for wheel chairs, and therefore it has previously not been possible to guarantee safe attachment of a wheel chair in passenger transport, but the floor according to the invention enables optimum fixing at all necessary points so that the wheel chair is securely fixed to the floor during transport.
When the chairs are secured in some recesses and the floor is attached to the means of transport in other recesses which are positioned in the vicinity of the chair-carrying recesses, the floor is capable of absorbing some impact energy in case of an accident. In contrast to the known types of floors, a floor according to the invention may be used as part of the passenger safety system of the means of transport. The floor according to the invention will be capable of being deformed, particularly if it is made of a metal plate, preferably an aluminium plate, since some weight may be saved hereby. With a floor according to the invention, it will be possible to make a floor for minibuses which satisfies the requirements for xe2x80x9cM1xe2x80x9d passenger vehicle approval.
The floor thus provides much more flexibility with respect to chair layout in e.g. minibuses. The chairs may be secured more safely to the floor, so that also the floor can absorb impact energy in case of a collision, where a passenger fastened in a seat belt is thrown forwards. It is moreover realized by the invention that the seat belts of the chair may be secured directly to the floor.
In a preferred embodiment of a floor according to the invention, the floor plate is arranged to be mounted in the bottom of the means of transport by means of at least one strap, which, optionally together with a segment of the floor, is fixed below the bottom of the means of transport. This results in a secure and strong attachment which does not take up much space, and which has an extremely low weight. The strap attachment may optionally be supplemented with a rubber strip for silencing the floor, if conditions so permit.
The attachment points for attaching the floor plate to the bottom may be shaped as slots immediately above the longitudinal joints between the profiles. This results in strong fixing, which also ensures that the surface of the floor remains plane.
In the preferred embodiment of a floor according to the invention, the plate is composed of a plurality of at least partly perforated floor profiles, whose longitudinal extent corresponds to the travelling direction of the means of transport, or transversely, if conditions so permit. The profiles are interconnected at their side flanges by welding, gluing or the like, or in that the side flanges are constructed as a tongue and groove connection. When the floor is composed of profiles, a cost-saving and extremely flexible construction of the floor according to the invention is achieved. Further, this construction means that the floor according to this preferred embodiment may be manufactured with a great strength relative to weight, in particular if the floor profiles, which are preferably made of aluminium, are shaped as U-profiles.
In a further embodiment, heating pipes for floor heating may be arranged inside the profiles between the bottom and the floor. This provides floor heating right below the passengers, which gives a better distribution of heat in the cabin than if merely ribbed pipe heating is installed in the side of the vehicle body. Optionally, an insulation material may be arranged on the underside of the heating pipes, if this is deemed necessary. If the profiles are of aluminium, the profile material, however, will contribute to conveying the heat upwards and into the cabin.
The floor plate may be composed of profiles of different widths, so that the attachment points may be adapted individually to the bottom of various types and makes of the means of transport.
In the preferred embodiment, each recess is shaped as an elongate hole with a reception opening for the securing means. This allows the chair to be mounted and removed easily. The reception opening may either be provided in the centre or at one end of the elongate hole.
The recesses may moreover be provided with mounting blocks where one or more of the mounting blocks are formed with the same recess as in the floor. The flooring is hereby protected against load from the legs of the chairs. The mounting block may be in the form of a band, if conditions so permit. The same floor type/the same perforated profile may hereby be used for several different mounting fittings for the attachment of chairs, auxiliary equipment or other equipment, merely by manufacturing suitable mounting blocks. This results in further constructional flexibility, in terms of production as well as use.
The floor according to the invention may moreover be provided with a flooring, e.g. vinyl or other covering, on an adapted floor plate, which is moreover formed with holes corresponding to the mounting positions for the selected cabin layout. The cover plate is placed on top of the floor plate so that a neat surface of the floor in the cabin is achieved in that the recesses which are not used for the mounting of chairs together with other recesses, such as attachment holes or the like, are covered. Such a plate is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture. If another seating is subsequently selected, a new cover plate is laid on the floor.
According to a second aspect, the invention provides a profile for a floor according to the first aspect of the invention. This profile exhibits a perforated surface and two side faces thereon, which are produced e.g. by bending. Further, in a first embodiment, the profile is made of aluminium. It is realized in this connection that the profiles may alternatively be made of kevlar or a similar fibre material, if so permitted by the price and other conditions. This provides an extremely suitable starting element for the making of a floor according to the preferred embodiment of a floor according to the invention.
Finally, according to a third aspect, the invention relates to a means of transport, such as a bus, minibus or other vehicle, in which a floor according to the first aspect of the invention is mounted, said floor being preferably composed of profiles according to the second aspect of the invention.
The invention will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings.